School reform ad takes quote out of context

Speech came two years before change proposed

BOISE – A new ad promoting Idaho education overhaul recycles a 3-year-old speech from a retired union leader, using a portion of it out of context to bash those trying to repeal the changes on Nov. 6.

The advertisement unveiled Monday uses an excerpt from a 2009 speech by former National Education Association top lawyer Bob Chanin.

It claims Chanin’s words illustrate why the union has spent more than $1 million to defeat a series of new education laws promoted by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna.

In the excerpt, Chanin says, “It is not because of the merit of our positions. It is not because we care about children. And it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. It’s because we have power.”

The reference to union power underpins the overhaul proponents’ message that out-of-state labor organizations are working to kill Luna’s changes – not to help students but because unions fear an erosion of their clout.

But Chanin’s retirement speech, to union members in San Diego, predated Luna’s 2011 “Students Come First” plan by two years. What’s more, the Chanin speech sought to explain why conservative groups oppose the NEA – it didn’t address education overhaul proposals in Idaho or any other state.

Brian Cronin, a state Democratic lawmaker and strategist leading the anti-overhaul effort, says labor groups are being vilified in hopes of distracting potential voters.

Ken Burgess, with the political action committee Yes for Idaho Education that paid for the ads, stuck by the message.

While Chanin’s words may have preceded the 2011 Legislature where Luna’s overhaul passed, Burgess said they illustrate a fundamental divide in the debate over U.S. education: conservatives who want changes, and unions who oppose efforts to alter the status quo.